No Car Needed: Barcelona to Gorgeous Girona

Girona is gorgeous. That is it. As a small city it is a cinch to walk, you won’t need any public transportation, and there are surprises at each twist of the lane. Massive doorways with tranquil courtyards. Long-range views from a walk up high on the city walls.

You will see slender rectangles where archers let their arrows rip at the enemy.

Many British people have homes here. And the menus are still in Catalan. Red geraniums tumble from window ledges. Kids play in the plazas. Wander, get lost and be delighted.

Six cool things you will will want to do:

l. Take a hike on the 11 bridges of Girona to see the city with its old houses packed along the river front. Crisscross each bridge for a different perspective. Most are pedestrian bridges with excellent photo opts. The naggingly disturbing part is how shallow the river is in places which is a direct result of misuse of water in Spain.

Cathedral of Santa Maria during the Flower Festival.

2. Be in awe in the Cathedral of Santa Maria. Gold-plated sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, and The Creation Tapestry. Climbing the 86 steps will work off the calories from the delicious Spanish bread you have snarfed down. Steps especially beautiful during The Flower Festival in May. The nave is the broadest nave in the world, an awesome building feat. Originally the site of a mosque built by the Moors who brought libraries, a democratic government, water systems, etc. to Spain. The Catholic church has never been shy about knocking down a religious building that doesn’t belong to them to do a take over.

3. Explore weird stuff in The City History Museum. I am a museum geek and love the odd. Visit the coal cellar, a cistern used to collect rainwater for the monastery, and a room with huge industrial gears (I guess the city fathers didn’t know where else to put these). A strange part of the museum is an indoor cemetery where dead friars were propped into a sitting position until their bodies dried out. This was probably a cult. Oh, no, the Catholic church, a cult? Dead dudes were then dressed in robes, wedged into place and used for fraternal devotion. Not exactly how I want to spend my Sunday morning.

4. Wander the medieval Jewish Quarter which is a puzzle of dank stairs and leaf-thin cobbled lanes. One of the most important Jewish communities in Spain, it thrived with over 1,000 moms, dads, cousins, and kids.

In 1492, the Queen of Mean, Queen Isabel, proclaimed that all Jews and Moors had to leave Spain.

They had three choices: leave, be killed, or convert. Untold numbers who converted were, guess what, killed also. In the summer, musical events are held in the courtyard by Jewish Museum.

5. Wonder at how the hell these medieval structures were built when you look at Sant Pere de Galligants, a cloister which is a fat, outstanding example of Catalan Romanesque architecture.

6. Walk the wall. Great views of the city and countryside, and photo opts for roof lines merging into odd angles. Red-tile roofs included. My fav. Depending on the time of year, flowers sprout out along the seams of the tiles. The old walls were used as protection. I imagine medieval armies charging across the meadows.

How to get there: Easy. Go to the Renfe train station in Barcelona (www.renfe.com). Both Sants and Passeig de Gracia stations are the departing points. About one hour and 15 minutes to Girona. No need to get tickets in advance. Kiosks often don’t work. When I go with friends, one of us waits in line at the kiosk, the other in line for a real person. Whoever gets the tickets first, wins some kinda prize. The prize has yet to be determined.